Eagles trust Barbre in big spot

Journeyman lineman filled in ably at left tackle, will get first start since 2009 on Sunday.

Allen Barbre (78) during practice on August 5, 2013. (EMILY ROBSON, THE MORNING…)

November 13, 2013|By Nick Fierro, Of The Morning Call

PHILADELPHIA — — Last Sunday, Allen Barbre proved his initial flash in training camp was no fluke, stepping in for injured left tackle Jason Peters and playing almost flawlessly.

This Sunday, he will get another chance to end his career as a journeyman and start a new one as an offensive lineman the Eagles have to keep around for years to come.

The 29-year-old Barbre likely is headed for his first start since 2009, when he was with the Green Bay Packers. Since then, he's had two stops in Seattle sandwiched around a short stint in Miami before spending all of last year out of the game. Even had Barbre made the Seahawks roster, he would have had to sit out the first four games due to failing a test for performance-enhancing drugs.

What's more, if he is called on, he will be manning the most important position aside from quarterback. And now that right-handed Nick Foles is in that position, Barbre's responsibilities become exponentially more important.

Peters (quadriceps, chest) was unable to practice Wednesday, which is a sign he will not be ready to return for Sunday's game against the Washington Redskins.

For Barbre, all these recent developments have happened so fast after his career moved at a glacial pace for his first six years in the NFL.

Last year, for instance, Barbre wasn't certain if he'd ever find another football job.

"I was like, maybe I'll give it one more shot and see what happens and go from there," Barbre said. "I was just staying home, working out, staying ready. I mean, if somebody would have called me, I could have played right away. I was in good shape."

The Eagles had him in for a workout in late October, but couldn't find space for him then, despite having been seriously depleted by injuries and failing performances by Danny Watkins and Demetress Bell.

Barbre didn't dwell on it, nor did it hold him back from signing with them this year, when he presumably would have a tougher time getting on the field with Peters and guard Todd Herremans returning from injuries and the team pointing toward taking a franchise tackle with its first pick in the NFL Draft. The Eagles followed through as expected and plucked Lane Johnson out of Oklahoma.

Yet Barbre somehow emerged from training camp as the offensive line's sixth man (save reserve center Julian Vandervelde). Being able to play guard helped immensely, as the Eagles have made a habit of activating only Barbre and Vandervelde as extra offensive linemen on game days.

"This league is all about opportunities," Barbre said, "and I'm grateful for my opportunity here. You just never know, really. You always just have to work hard and stay ready."

Barbre's gain is second-year tackle Dennis Kelly's loss. Kelly had played well enough last year and in the offseason camps this year to move himself into position to be the first backup option at tackle on either side.

But he missed nearly all of training camp with a back injury that required minor surgery, clearing the way for Barbre to make a great impression while Peters was nursing a nagging hamstring strain that dogged him all summer.

"It is a little frustrating, you can say, because I thought I had a pretty good offseason, had good OTAs, came into camp with good momentum," Kelly said. "Then obviously the surgery came up. But we're winning and Al is playing really well, so it's really hard to be too upset when things are going the right way.

"And obviously I get to heal a little bit more, week by week."

The problem Kelly and all offensive linemen in his situation, including Barbre and left guard Evan Mathis, face is that even when they do everything right, they might have to wait half a decade or more to prove themselves as dependable starters who can be plugged in for years with little or no maintenance.

Mathis played for three teams over six seasons before landing in Philadelphia in 2011.

"I knew my talents and abilities," he said.

It just took coming to the Eagles at precisely the right time to exploit them fully. That same process is happening with Barbre now, according to Mathis.

"Allen's bounced around a little bit in the league," he said, "but from the day he stepped in here, we could tell he had a lot of talent. And then as you get to know him more as a person and a player, you could see this guy was the real deal."